We have spent three-quarters of this hefty novel in the company of Iris, inhabiting her orbit as she navigates her memories. Even the disruptive excerpts from Laura’s novel feel familiar now. We’ve grown comfortable with those two unnamed lovers, and the ceaseless shift of settings (always a new rented
“Cat’s Eye was risky business in a way—wouldn’t I be trashed for writing about little girls, how trivial?” MA wonders aloud in a 1990 interview. “Or wouldn’t I be trashed for saying they weren’t all sugar and spice?” But this risk is compelling, too. “I sometimes get interested in
It’s been a quiet week for MARMers, with the rush of Week One behind us and the seemingly possibility-soaked remaining weeks in November awaiting, although Andrew has posted about Cat’s Eye (1988). He also included two early MARM links at the end, so you can also read about Bill’s
Through the first quarter of the novel, I was thinking of this as the story of two lovers. My take would’ve failed the Bechdel test, and I think, now, it’s really a tale of two sisters: Iris and Laura Chase. The girls would have passed, I think: even when
“Surfacing changed a lot. Bodily Harm was a pretty fast write. Handmaid’s Tale was a fast write. Lady Oracle took me a long time because there are so many people and it’s complex. I think Surfacing changed the most from beginning to end.” “Freeforall” leaves me craving an in-a-nutshell
